Falling
by cotesgoat
Summary: 'And so they were trapped, stuck in the elevator...' Set during 'Till Death Do Us Part'/'Extreme Prejudice' Major Tiva! T/Z
1. Falling

No. No, her world did not darken, and it did not go black.

Instead, the opposite.

She was absolutely sure her demise came with the bright flash of white, and though she was not too keen on American idioms, traditions - whatever, but she half expected her life to flash by instead.

And so, filled with fear, she clung to him - as her only life line. She grasped his hand with one of hers, and covered her head with the other.

The weight under her made her shiver, and she could only pray that he was safe. She didn't know if he _was_ alive, or even if _she _was alive, but in that elevator, the metal box the held them so tightly, they were trapped.

* * *

It felt as if he was dead. Metal, and whatever the hell it was fell on him, covering the two like a blanket. He blacked out shortly after her, but the result was all the same.

He remembered her begging him to escape, and he refused like an idiot. He remembered her soft skin of his hand, pulling him into the elevator, calling

"No, I'm not going without_ you._" He could only hope - he could only pray - that she survived.


	2. Alive

She was the first to escape oblivion, taking air into her into her lungs carefully. For seconds, she forgot where she was, until the weight under her become noticed. The elevator emitted a blue light, shining into the face of her partner.

"_Tony"_ she gasped into the dusty air. She moved off him, and her hands ghosted over his body searching for any blood. The red liquid was oozing from his lips, and his neck was adorned with bruises, most certainly from the fallen plaster. His chest too, even though she acted as a shield, showed damage.

When he emerged from the dark, his head was rested in her lap, her hands gently caressing his scalp, with her head rested on the back wall, eyes closed. He coughed, sending a trickle of blood flying past his lips, and groaned, suspiciously like her name. When she jerked her head forward, looking at the splatter of blood. _Oh no_, she thought, _this was worse than she thought._

"Tony," She wiped away the stain, with a look of fear in her eyes. He caught her hand, and she slid it back to the top of his head.

"It-Its fine." Reassurance that he definitely _not_ fine. "How long have we been in here?"

"I do not know," she sighed, brushing her fingers through his hair.

"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching his hand to hold her cheek. She denied being the slightest bit hurt, and asked him the same.

"My- My chest," he huffed, "Neck." Yes that was true, blood covered his shirt.

"Gibbs will find us, we will be okay."

After a long moment of silence, he spoke; "We don't even know if he's _alive."_

She kept quiet for a moment after, "Do not talk like that, he is Gibbs, he-"

_"We could've died today." _She imagined scolding him for his words, but they were true, _they_ _could have died today._

"We still could."

He looked up at her, a look on his face that she couldn't quite recognize. She rubbed her hands across him cheek, staring into his eyes. For a second, he almost swore that her eyes drifted to his lips, but that thought was almost forgotten. He too, stared into her eyes, for it was almost an oasis from the harsh world.

Another jolt rocked the elevator, and he mourned at the removal of her hands. She steadied herself against the wall, and when the elevator stopped abruptly, she placed her hand back on his cheek and the other tangled into his fingers, interlocked.

After a while of silence, he began coughing again, with more blood escaping. Ziva steadied him, holding her breath. When the coughing declined, she rested his head back into her lap, her heart still pounding.

"Ziva?" he called, and she looked down at him, even in the distressful time, she was so beautiful. He reached up and pushed a strand of hair from her face, letting his hand linger by her cheek. It was such an intimate gesture, and he was afraid she would pull away, but she accepted the contact. And he found that he had nothing to say. He moved his body, sitting up in front of her, his hand still ghosting over her cheek. She tilted her head, and her lips parted. Gently and slowly, he traced her jawline with his fingertips, and tilted her head towards him. He reached down, still looking into her eyes, and pressed his lips to hers. With the contact, both of their eyes closed, and she placed a hand to his cheek, gently. When they parted, she rested her head onto the crook of his neck, taking in what happened, her hand still placed on his cheek.

She trailed back up to his face, looking into his eyes before kissing him again. This time, her tongue entered his mouth, and explored. His entered hers in a tender, passionate way. Her lips were sweet against hers, and they forgot about the world around them. It was just the two of them, and nothing else mattered.


End file.
